If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. – Wayne Dyer

“Quick, I need a blue piece.” But does it need to be blue? Or will a gray piece do? There are lots of both, but what if you needed one which was red? What is the issue you are solving?

What does that mean?
This is another twisted quote chiastic. It says change the look, and how you look will change. We all see things through our own filters.

We often see what we expect to see. If you are looking for blue cars, you don’t really notice the other cars. You might even be surprised at how many the other cars are, and how few the blue ones are.

But if you look for cars in general, you suddenly notice how many non-blue cars there are, because now you notice them far more often. To me, that is what this quote is about.

Consider if you are looking for your flaws. How many will you find? How many more will you invent? If instead you look for your strengths, how many flaws will you find? And how would your life change in the process?

Why is focus important?
We tend to find more of the things on which we focus. Have you ever been looking everywhere for something, and have someone else say “you mean this?” Grrrr. Yes that. Were you too focused? Were you focused on all the wrong spots? That’s what usually happens to me, how about you?

If you’re looking for a way to get to your vacation, and you usually take a plane, do you even consider the train or a boat? Yes, there will be places a train or boat cannot go, but the point remains the same. If you already have something in mind, the other possibilities fade into the background.

If we focus on solving the problem, rather than on one specific part of it, it will be easier to get to a satisfactory result, right? Otherwise your focus could easily lead you astray. At least that is the way it works for me.

And should you ever find yourself in a place where you were ‘stuck,’ you could well find that a simple change in the way you look at things could change the whole look of the issue at hand. At least it often does for me.

Where can I apply this in my life?
very rule has an exception. I call the exception to the ‘find what you are looking for’ the “Lego Exception.” I have spend hours searching for that one piece I need to finish my masterpiece. It’s in there, I know it, but I just can’t find it.

In my case, it’s usually because I see it in my mind in a certain position and orientation, and if it isn’t, I look right past it. That’s a little too much focus. Instead of being focused on what I needed, I had a vision of exactly what I wanted, and anything less than a perfect match was discarded.

Recently, I was talking with my son about trying to solve a particular issue. He came up with a potential solution, but it had a flaw. When I pointed out the flaw to him, he came up with a new solution, based solely on fixing the flaw. It was a horrible fit to the issue at hand.

By focusing on the flaw, he lost track of the original object of the exercise. How often does that happen to you? How often do you come up with plans to fix the last thing that went wrong, without keeping in mind all the other things which were issues before?

Can you imagine how interesting your life would be if you dated in this manner? Each time looking for someone with the sole criteria that they weren’t going to have the issue which doomed the last relationship, and without any consideration to any other issue they might have? Ouch!

Where in your life are you feeling suck or otherwise not able to find a solution? Might it be how you are looking at things? Or might it be that your idea regarding the proper solution might not be the best possible way of getting there from where you are?

If you’ve solved a similar problem before using a particular method, you might simply go back to something with which you are familiar, even if it isn’t the best way of overcoming this obstacle. There are plenty of situations where ‘autopilot’ kicks in, and things happen without a lot of thought.

To me, these situations are just what the quote is about. Take a moment and reconsider what you are doing, and what you are actually trying to accomplish. Sometimes that is all the more it takes to get things done. Sometimes seeing something with fresh eyes can be a big help.

Consider trying this. If you find yourself stuck, or frustrated, take a step back. Make sure you are seeing things properly. Are you solving the proper problem? Are you looking too hard for the one perfect piece? What other options have you ignored because you don’t usually use them?

Changing the way you look at things can bring clarity and aid in the discovery of new options. It can help you discard old habits which no longer serve you. And it can help you make better observations from your new perspective. Try it, you might like it.

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By looking at a conspiracy theory differently, you might find the theory has no merit, or you may find a deeper mystery. Who knows, you might even find the truth. But don’t tell them you heard it from me. 8)